Where Can Kids Zap Aliens and Bust Ghosts?

By: Meg Frainey, Employee Communications

How do you show kids that science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) can be fun?

The answer is simple. Learning by doing.

Let them come with you to work and code apps where they blast things on a screen.

We recently held a coding camp for employees' children ages 6 to 12 at our Big Data office in Plano, Texas. While the kids were zapping aliens, bursting hot dogs and busting some ghosts, they learned more about the technology their parents work with every day.

"The idea was to promote STEM by inviting our employees and their children to sit side by side, have fun and build real apps," said Randy Garza, Big Data team member and event organizer.

Big Data joined the AT&T Aspire team to host the event. Campers learned to code and develop apps.

"We believe one of the most important investments we can make is in our kids' education," said Nicole Anderson, AVP, social innovation, AT&T. "Coding is a language every kid needs to know. It's the language behind what we do at AT&T and it's the language behind so many jobs of the future."

Campers got to hear from a data scientist panel and tested their knowledge in a mini hackathon. They even presented their newly designed apps.

We're hoping to inspire new generations of data scientists and other technology professionals—starting with our own.